Mother Charged with Murdering 2 Children

TAMPA, Fla. -- A mother fatally shot her 13-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter because she was tired of them talking back, police said.

Julie Schenecker, 50, was arrested today on two counts of first-degree murder.

Investigators said Schenecker told them she killed her children because "they were mouthy," police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said. McElroy said Schenecker showed no remorse.
Calyx Powers Schenecker, a 16-year-old King High sophomore, was shot in the back of the head while she was on the computer in her bedroom, McElroy said.

Powers "Beau" Schenecker, 13, was an eighth-grader at Liberty Middle. He was shot in his side in the garage, McElroy said.
Investigators believe the children were shot Thursday evening.

Their father, Parker Schenecker, is a colonel in U.S. Army intelligence and currently is in Qatar.

At 7:39 a.m. Friday, Julie Schenecker's mother, who lives in Texas, called police to say she was concerned about her daughter, McElroy said.

An officer arrived at the single-family home at 16305 Royal Park Court in New Tampa six minutes later and found the children at the scene.

Julie Schenecker was outside the home, McElroy said. She was covered in blood. With police and media descending on the neighborhood, residents described the situation as unnerving.

"This is devastating for the neighborhood," said Michelle Ball. "The reason I moved here is because this is safe and this shakes me to the core."